Unless you have been living under a rock without power and wi-fi, or without a friend in the world then you probably are aware Jon Gruden has been rumored, reported, and expected to return as Oakland Raiders head coach.
Losing seasons suck. Ownership is disappointed in the monies funneled into preparing and maintaining a professional franchise that didn’t win. The coaching staff who were brought in to mold, instruct, and teach the game of football didn’t do enough during a season of 12-14 hour days. Players suffer the most, your favorite player has an off-year with the team being lousy and all of a sudden people want to invalidate their entire careers.
But the fans, well… they don’t call them fanatics for no reason.
Fanaticism runs high in Raider Nation, “win, lose, or tie I’m a Raider ’til I die,” others swear up and down to bleeding Silver and Black. There are also the self-proclaimed former fans for whom relocation has poisoned a once deep love for this organization, and those who believe that without Al Davis there are no Raiders.
“Grumors:Â Chucky’s Back”
Uncertainty, fear, distrust, and jubilation has engulfed Raider Nation just like a bomb cyclone. Has the game passed Gruden by? It’s been 17 years since he was the first head coach traded, nine years since his last season coaching in the NFL. The answer is no.
One could say in a fair comparison, Gruden has been in the position of being the modern version of John Madden. A showman in his own right, inside the MNF broadcast booth, Gruden has watched and critiqued an awful lot of football. He has been privy to offensive game planning from all 32 teams whenever he shows up for a broadcast. Pictured below Gruden is meeting with his competition and going over playoff strategies, nobody in the NFL has the gravitas that he does and few are as respected.
Jon Gruden catching up w/ @Chiefs head coach Andy Reid during NFL #WildCard mtgs in Kansas City today in preparation for #TENvsKC (Sat, 420p ET on ESPN & ABC). pic.twitter.com/jQIQks1Esz
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) January 4, 2018
For some reason, there is an opinion that Gruden will be too much for franchise quarterback Derek Carr to handle. Not knowing Carr on a personal level myself I can’t argue that one way or another without putting words into his mouth so I’ll say this about it. Perspective people, Gruden is an older man and has raised his family. There’s something about the patience of fatherhood that tempers enthusiasm just a bit.
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Will Gruden be in faces and jumping down urethras? Absolutely. Grumors have it that Gruden is bringing in multiple coaches to help bridge the gap between his quarterback and that should ease the minds of many fans. Needing a quarterback to get him out of the booth, Gruden was impressed with Carr since meeting him on Gruden’s QB Camp.
https://twitter.com/Free_Mason14/status/948439859038912512
As Chris Simms, a former quarterback of Gruden’s in Tampa said the needling and the yelling is all a plot to get the most out of his players. Gruden doesn’t want his quarterback to be good, he wants him to be elite. The level of preparation in store for Carr is going to help him in his career period.
Carr is a disciplined soldier who dutifully put the team on his broken back and never complained once, never pointed a finger at anyone just took it all on the chin. Carr’s whole “modus operandi” has been doing what the coach asks him to do, never questioning orders. Continuing this trend will serve he and the Raiders well moving forward and should hasten the “Re-Commitment To Excellence” that has been missing since Gruden was shown the door.